Leadership and Organizational Culture: Linking CEO Characteristics to Cultural Values

Purpose  The purpose of this study was to empirically examine organizational culture theorists’ assertions about the linkages between leadership and the cultures that emerge in the organizations they lead. Specific hypotheses were developed and tested regarding relationships between chief executive officers’ (CEO’s) personality traits, and the cultural values that are shared among their organization’s members. Design/Methodology/Approach  Thirty-two CEOs completed measures of the Big-Five personality traits and personal values. A total of 467 employees across the 32 organizations completed a competing values measure of organizational culture. Findings  Results indicate support for several hypothesized relationships between CEO personality and cultural values. Exploratory analyses indicated that several CEO personal values were related to culture values. Implications  Organizations need to seriously consider the “fit” between the current or desired organizational culture and CEO characteristics. Organizations attempting to change fundamental aspects of its functioning may need significant behavioral—or personnel—changes at the top of the organization in order to achieve those changes. Originality/Value  This is the first empirical study to establish a link between specific CEO characteristics and the cultural values of their organizations. This study provides evidence that CEO characteristics are felt throughout the organization by impacting the norms that sanction or discourage member behavior and decision making, and the patterns of behavior and interaction among members.     

Analysis of physical abuse in American schools

This study examined variables included in press reports of excessive infiction of pain on school children over the past ten years. Cross-tabulations were used to examine the relationship between severe corporal punishment with sex of educator, sex of pupil, nature of infraction, severity of punishment, job position of staff member, and age of student. The results indicate that severe corporal punishment is most often administered by males to boys. The frequency steadily increased to 12 or 13 years of age and then decreased. There was no relation between type of misbehavior and severity of punishment. Tentative clinical and educational implications of the study are discussed.     

Gender role orientation,ethical and interpersonal conflicts,and conflict handling styles of female managers

This study examines the influences of socialization and structural variables on relations among gender role orientations, interpersonal and ethical conflicts, and conflict handling styles. The data were collected from 134 female federal and provincial government supervisors and managers (Mage 40.1). Results of multivariate analyses of variance indicated that managers with high-instrumental traits are likely to indicate that they would use a dominating conflict handling style, and androgynous managers (high-expressive and high-instrumental traits) are more likely to indicate that they would use an integrating style. Managers did not report that they would use different conflict handling styles for ethical and interpersonal conflicts. Moreover, nonsignificant interaction effects indicated that the nature of the conflict did not moderate the gender role orientation and conflict handling style relationship.

     

Telling Jokes That Disparage Social Groups: Effects on the Joke Teller's Stereotypes1

An experiment tested whether or not reciting disparaging humor about a disadvantaged group affects joke tellers' stereotypes of the group. In this experiment, we manipulated whether participants recited humor that disparaged Newfoundlanders, who are a relatively disadvantaged group in Canada, or nondisparaging humor. We then asked participants to complete a measure of their stereotypes and attitudes toward Newfoundlanders. Results indicated that participants who recited disparaging humor subsequently reported more negative stereotypes of Newfoundlanders than did participants who recited nondisparaging humor. Attitudes toward Newfoundlanders were not affected by the manipulation. Practical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Development of an australian work ethic scale

A scale designed to tap adherence to the Protestant work ethic ideology in Australia has been developed. The development of the Australian Work Ethic scale (AWE) was based on items selected on the basis of factor analysis and item-total correlations. Validation of the scale found that it has convergent and concurrent validity. Specifically, it correlated highly with both the Mirels and Garrett (1971) Protestant work ethic scale and Blood's (1969) pro-Protestant ethic scale. It was also found that people who strongly endorsed the work ethic ideology as measured on the AWE scale, tended to stress internal causal explanations for unemployment, and were less willing to provide assistance to the unemployed, findings which are in line with the work ethic ideology. The findings were discussed in terms of the continued efficacy of the work ethic ideology in Australia. Possible uses of this new measure in future research are suggested.     

Conditions Of Life And Parental Values

The study constitutes an expansion of Kohn's work on social class and parental values, in two directions: firstly a search for value dimensions other than Kohn's self-direction/conformity; and secondly, an investigation of three aspects of social structure: immigrant status, quality of neighbourhood and housing type. Data were collected from parents of 305 9–11-year-olds resident in Sydney. Kohn's parental values instrument was used, but analysed using a multivariate linear model rather than the traditional way (factor analysis followed by a univariate multiple regression). Immigrant status, neighbourhood quality, family income, child's sex and street type all predicted particular parental value sets. Non Anglo immigrnts differed from other groups in their strong emphasis on school performance, sex role performance and sibling relations. Parents in higher quality neighbourhoods put greater value on children's sociability than did those in higher risk neighbourhoods. Self-control, school performance and neatness/cleanliness were favoured by middle income families. Parents living in industrial/commercial streets devalued school performance, achievement striving and curiosity. Parental occupation and education did not have significant predictive power over and above the contribution of these variables. Reanalysis of the data using Kohn's factor analytic procedure gave the traditional self-direction/conformity factor, but immigrant status, quality of neighbourhood and income continued to explain more variance than occupation or education. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

MOTHERS' DEVELOPMENTAL TIMETABLES IN TWO CULTURAL GROUPS*

To explore differences in concepts about development, mothers in two cultural groups were interviewed to determine: (a) their developmental timetables (the ages at which they expected various skills to appear); (b) the extent to which they taught various skills before school; and (c) the extent to which they perceived several qualities, once established, as stable over time. Variables were the child's gender, the child's birth order (first or not first to begin school), and the mother's ethnic background (Australian-born or Lebanese-born). Gender and birth order showed minimal effects; ethnicity had a strong effect in areas (a) and (b) but not (c). The results bring out the content of mothers' ideas, raise questions about factors affecting this content, and point to some aspects of mothers' ideas as inter-related.     

Mirrors, Clocks, Maps, and Music: A South African Response to Family Therapy Supervision/Training

Once upon a time a training unit embarked upon a Journey. The Journey was to encompass a year's training and supervision in family therapy. Bags were packed to the brim with theory and training methods. One day the Unit left the bags behind to see what would happen if they travelled light and let the students bring their own luggage to the examination. Students were expected to describe their relationships with the interviewed families, and their training through a story. The great exam day came. Inspired students used innovative ideas and metaphors to describe the Journey. This article tells the story about these stories and the Unit's learning from them.